You Found Me
by MethuselahPixie
Summary: Max and the crew are headed out for a trip after Total and Akila's wedding. They land in a townish city and when they chose to stake out at a high school, who do they find but Fang? After Fang and the rest of the series. READxREVIEW
1. Intro

_Maximum Ride__. I make some serious fun of the books in here, so if it offends, don't keep reading, please. _

_Yes, this is a town I know too much about. No names. If you know the set up, don't tell people where it is. My friends hate publicity and many will kill me in my sleep if they see how I picture them. _

Thanks so much for taking your time to read, so here's what you're waiting for…

If you ever hear someone say anything is better than flying, they're lying. Plain and simple.

Stretching a fifteen-foot wingspan, feeling that warm updraft, being carried above the birds and planes and clouds; that's the best thing in the world.

"Maaaaax," a whine whips into my ears from somewhere to my right.

Yup. That's me. Maximum Ride: Fighter, flighter, and leader of the flock.

"I'm starved," Gazzy continues. "Can we go to Wendy's?"

"I like their shakes," Angel pipes from somewhere below me. I can see her white wings shining like white fire.

Those two are the only ones related to each other. Brother and sister, they're both blond, blue-eyed, and fair skinned. The only difference is that Angel is(most of the time…) my little angel, and Gazzy… he's my fireworks guy. Think about it.

"I just want a salad." Nudge is floating beside Angel, easily keeping up with her longer wing span. She's been unusually insistent on her new bird girl diet of 8,000 calories a day. With her new dream to be a super model she has been trimming back quite a bit.

Not like she's not skinny. We all are. Hollow bones, constantly burning calories… she must want to be anorexic or somethi – what? Oh, 8,000 calories? Yeah, that's small for us. We usually eat around 13,000 and we still stay skinny. Jealous much?

"That little girl with the red hair creeps me out," mutters Iggy, our blind red head himself. He glided above me, staying close to Gazzy. They were like a team. They both loved explosives.

We had gotten a bribe to get him new eyes from an evil scientist bent on super human healing, but that had slipped my mind somewhere in Fang.

I sigh. "All right, kids. Lets land and see if we can find a burger joint." Angling my wings for a descent, I dropped like a bullet, the others in tow, towards the large town below.

As soon as Lowes came into view I counted to five then as soon as we'd taken cover behind a storage truck, we jerked out our wings and came to a graceful landing. Accept Gazzy, who pin wheeled into the side of the truck.

We flinched. Ow. We'd all done that at least a couple dozen times.


	2. Idea Blooms

It had almost been a month since I'd found Fang's note and no Fang. I'm still just as confused about what to do and devastated as I was the night I found it, but I just couldn't think of myself like a rational person.

First of all, I couldn't leave to look for him and let Angel take over. She might turn the rest of the flock into the anti-Max force four and if I do find him and bring him back, we'll be clubbed, drugged, memory-wiped, and dumped somewhere with the cold shoulder from our so-called family.

Which I have protected practically since birth, and who seem to not care much that I'd like Fang and them too.

I don't love one more than the other. I suppose since they can't see that, I'll just stick with them and get over Fang. It'll make them happy.

What do I care about happiness?

Secondly, if I do threaten him enough to make sure that he doesn't pull Drama Boy and fly off again, we'll be so busy making our own flock – one on one if you catch my drift – that, again, Angel will rally the others into the anti-hormone/sex/love life force four.

Accept maybe Iggy. He doesn't like the pairing either, but I'm sure he doesn't want to stay a virgin because he joined their evil little pact.

So, currently, I'm crouching behind a big truck with my little flock who hates my love life so much they drove away my one and only lover, making sure no one saw us with our wings. Creeping forward, I peered around the back tire, sighing in relief as I saw the parking lot was mostly empty. Mondays I suppose no one wants to go to a hardware store.

I looked across the street. There was a small hill with a high school billboard(no I 'm not telling you what school or city we're at) to the left of the intersection, and a Quik-e mart on the right, attached to a gas station.

Standing upright, I followed my nose to my close right and looked beside the Lowes, passed a closed-up second-hand shop. A grin grew on my lips.

"Who wants Mexican?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at the others.

They all cheered like only bird kids who devour whole cows at a time can cheer for Mexican food.

I smiled and rested my hands on my hips. Was I good or what? Glancing at the sign, I racked my brain for the words 'La Carreta' in Spanish I might have picked up on my way around the world. Nope.

"To 'The Cart!"' Gazzy whoops and speeds off, racing Nudge. I shrugged and follow Angel as she leads Iggy by the hand across the grass to the parking lot. Guess they learned more than I'd thought.


	3. Mexican Food and Margaritas

The guys shoveled down Mexican hamburgers and cheeseburgers, dipping their fries in the cheese dip and pouring salsa over everything that went into their mouths. Of course.

Angel picked at a chicken fajita, which Nudge refused to touch, and the mocha colored girl was waiting patiently for her salad. I hadn't ordered one for her.

I sipped on a coke and tapped my finger on the glass to _Bailamos_ by Enrique Iglesias being sung over the loud speaker. As an adoptive parent, I was happy to see my chillins fit in perfectly with the other customers; they were also stuffing their faces like the end of the world was next Tuesday.

Tan skinned, solemn waiters whisked away our empty plates and kept unloading the food one after the other, the same order, until the boys were so full they couldn't move. They also refilled our glasses with under-5-foot grace and didn't complain as food flew this way and that as Gazzy struggled through another course of taquitos.

It was chaotic and peaceful at the same time.

When my cheeseburger plopped down in front of me, I dug in like the boys and devoured three before I was having trouble working on the fries too.

"Max?"

I turned to Angel, who sat at my side with a fajita missing only the chicken. "Yes, honey?"

She looked at me so grimly it was creeping me out. "Are we staying here long?"

I shrugged. "In a place where no one cares we're pigs and the waiters don't smile? Sure, why not." I paused. With Angel, it was better to know her reasons for speaking up, else her visions and prophecies she doesn't tell you about might screw up your whole vacation and end with an exasperating I'm-never-allowed-to-go-back-and-fix-that-nice-trip ending. "Why?"

"I like it here." She said simply. A small part of me died happy.

We ducked in unison as a taquito flew over our heads. A waitor caught it no-problem and tossed it back to Gazzy.

I grinned. Maybe we'd stay longer than a little bit longer.

The place opened at five, just ten minutes before we'd arrived, and it had been packed then. Now it was filled with white Americans chugging drinks and laughing loudly. The place felt like a casino without the smoke.

I was finally convinced that was bad for the flock when Iggy picked one up, thinking it was his water, and sucked on the straw to a peach margarita.

Rising from the table, I gathered the flock and slapped a hundred bucks on the counter, herding them out the door. The Mexican behind us at the cash register and cashed the thing. He had a greedy glint in his eyes, though his tan face remained emotionless.

Creepy much?


	4. High School!

_My apologies for the wait! Life had become increasingly hectic, and there was barely enough time to slow down and breathe, let alone get on the computer. '.___. _

_WAIT OVER!! Here's what your subscribing has been awaiting…_

The sun was beginning to fade over the horizon of road and traffic lights, the light traffic thinning even more profoundly as stars began to gleam overhead.

After attempting to bunker down in the nearby DAV and being kicked out on their keisters, I walked back in the direction of the restaurant with a fleeting hope we wouldn't have to fly all over to find a hotel. So far, I'd seen none yet. Great sign.

We passed the Jiffy Lube and Nudge persisted on about the school.

"Max, it's a high school; with showers and hiding places and all sorts of books and things!" She said, pretty eyes alight. She'd always loved schools for some odd reason.

I frowned at her as we walked by a few sketchy-looking kids hanging around a Hardees. "I don't know, Nudge. Schools never worked out for us before; why should now be any different?"

"Because there's no one after us now," she said, matter-of-factly. A slight lie. The people after us had apparently just taken a vacation. "Besides, I want to walk into a school and see it before the other kids get there. Maybe we can even make friends here!"

I cursed under my breath. "Uh, maybe meeting people here isn't such a good idea," I mumbled, but she kept on.

"And we can hide from the janitors, and figure out all the crevices, and explore!" She looked so preppy, I was afraid she might turn me to the pink side, with her big hopeful look and her dancing little steps. What a dream.

Then, suddenly, I stood behind the school's brick sign and the sakura tree shielding it, eyeing the place.

It had a wall around two corners of the parking lot to the far left, painted blue and covered in hand prints and yellow writing that read, 'Seniors '10, The Best There's Ever Been,' which I assumed was the senior parking lot.

The rest of the school was long and had off-white roofing, worn red brick, and rain stained concrete.

The only out of place thing about it was the grass squares placed behind wide sidewalks that ran in front of the school. The patches had healthy green grass, bushes of all shades and flowerings, and were right under the office windows on both sides of the front set of two double doors. They were protected by a chain link fence, though, which meant it was safe from students by being off limits.

All that meant to me was that whatever office personnel had bad allergies on a hot spring day, either had to suck up the heat or some Nasonex.

I studied Nudge's wide smile, gushing with hope, then squinted glaringly at the school while the wind blew my bangs across my eyes, screwing up my glare.

I sighed and shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

As Nudge squeals with joy, I turn to see the siblings pulling Iggy from humping a fire hydrant. Must be the margarita.

"Come on, guys," I call, and they all look up. "We're going to school."


	5. Tours

Going to school? US? Wow.

Peacefully, anyway, seemed to have become quite the impossibility as of late.

But you know what?

We did.

Turns out, there's a 9th grade Earth Science room filled with two things; giant polished slate tables for two, covered in profanity – and spacious cupboards wall-to-wall three of the four walls in the giant room.

About the size of a soccer field, the room was tiled nicely and had lovely glass cases above the cupboards filled with rocks and things. Very interesting… if we knew what they were(or cared).

The kids picked out cupboards on different sides of the room – they were connected on each wall, only separated by a back door or an installed sink – Angel on one side, Nudge on the opposite, and Gazzy and Iggy in the ones along the back wall.

I myself picked one near Angel's. Protective, right? Another point for mommy Max…

We lined our new little coves with blankets and pillows found in the janitors closet. Of course, there was a bottle of lotion and a few… items… also there that were obviously not clean, so I scrubbed everything in the bathroom sinks with crappy pink pump soap until everything smelled like flowers and flung them over a brick wall outside to dry.

Then, we split up to explore.

Angel took the greenhouse out in the back courtyard by the pond. She found a lot of flowers and bugs, and claimed it as her 'thinking spot.' No touchie.

Nudge, of course, took the auditorium. She found theatre seating lined with old, red plush material that creaked when you sat on it, a stage with a long, dusty maroon curtain, and a hidden door to a balcony just above the audience.

Her claim staked.

Do I even have to explain the taken chemistry lab by Iggy and the cafeteria the size of a football field and shaped like an L for Gazzy that had several secret rooms and a door leading to the front of the school? Good. Didn't want to.

Me, I went passed the girls bathroom by the cafeteria and a few vending machines on my way to the stairs. I made a mental note to steal a bit of those poptarts as I descended the steps into darkness, and flipped on the lights.

There were three halls. One to my upper left, one to my immediate right, and one leading back behind the stairs. I took the one to my left first.

Girls locker room, boys locker room, and a set of double doors leading out to the track and tennis court right alongside the building. Interesting. I poked my head into both locker rooms.

Showers, bathrooms, lockers. The only problem was the smell. Perfect.

I back-tracked and found yet another set of doors by the hall to the right of the steps. Wandering down the corridor, I found woodshop, a small computer lab that had ISS on a little yellow sign on the door, and a narrow set of steps that lead two ways – to the auditorium, and the other way outside to the front of the school.

I made another mental note to sneak up on Nudge later.

Heading back to the main stairs again I took the final back hall. Two water fountains, turn a corner to your right, and there was a bunch of doors along the wall leading into a gym, and on the left side of the hall was the weight lifting room.

Yet another mental note. Keep Gazzy away from heavy weights.

I kept going down that hall and found a third staircase that lead up to the back of the science hall, which lead out to the courtyard where angel was guarding her greenhouse.

Good. A lot of entrances and exits.

That was important to panicky, flighty bird kids such as myself and the others.

Bringing in all the laundry from the courtyard wall nice and dry, I let the kids make their nests and curl up for the night.

I made sure they were all asleep before tucking myself into my own cupboard. Reluctnt to close the door, I left it cracked; only to realize if my foot stuck out in my sleep someone would totally bust us.

Sighing, I shut the cabinet door tightly and drifted off myself, wondering what else was in store for us here.


	6. Morning Shocks

We woke, annoyingly, at 7:55 to the morning bell.

Thursday mornings had never been met with a more irritating thing than that long-ass bell.

I passed on the message to keep down and keep silent to the flock; probably unnecessarily, but all the same, I didn't want to seem like I didn't care. Cracking my cupboard, peeking out.

A boy about 5"8 with dark red hair flopping over black eyes and a creamy, freckled pallor was munching a poptart at the back table on the right. He had a small bottle of hot sauce sticking out of his jeans pocket. Weirdo.

The girl sitting with him at the heavy black table was short and curvy; she had thick rimmed glasses tinted purple and bright, wide blue eyes. Her dirty blond hair pulled back in a long ponytail flung when she tossed her head back and laughed, snorts and all.

There were three columns of tables, with five tables in each column.

I shut the door again. Mostly girls in that class. No guys – though one did growl when people talked to him. Scary, if you ask me.

I could hear Gazzy whispering to Iggy details about the hottest girls. I hoped he wasn't suffering too bad of a hang-over.

Nudge busied herself blocking bug holes with toilet paper in her cabinet.

Angel just sat quietly. That was when she scared me the most.

During the teacher's planning period we waited until her footsteps retreated to the teachers lounge down the hall and cued the others it was safe to roam around and stretch.

Gazzy, Nudge and Iggy went out for a flight, and Angel went around admiring the rocks. Determined to keep an eye on her, I squatted down and read the wooden table legs.

'KKK' jumped out at me. Was that another evil organization of evil children-hating scientists? Who was 'Yo Mamma?' And what the heck was 'BAMF?'

Shrugging, I rose as gum caught my eye under the table and I drifted away from them. Gross.

I found the red haired kid's bottle of hot sauce. It was palm-sized, and as I weighed it in my hand, I took a small swig. A look between disgust and disbelief screwed my face up. Who could stand this on any kind of food? It was grotesque.

Almost like – I looked down at the label. It was peeling at the edges, and something shone white beneath it. Lifting it up, I blinked. An Acid Reflux medication? Why was he hiding it in a hot sauce bottle? I replaced it in the bundle of his jacket on the counter beside his desk.

I'd watch and see.

Suddenly, Angel gasped and grabbed at my sleeve. My heart leapt and as my adrenaline spiked, I looked down at her in alarm, "What, what is it, Angel?"

Angel's face broke out into a sweet smile, and I relaxed only a smidge. "Can I get a rock like that one, Max?" She was pointing at a round gray rock labeled 'granite' with a funny looking gem on the inside, which was visible 'cause the rock lay in half. The funny thing about it was the gem was dark indigo, which, the card beneath it read, was unusual for granite.

Angel glanced at my confused face. "It's radioactive quartz," she explained.

I frowned. "We can look in a safer place later for a rock just like it, sweety," I said soothingly, my eyes wandering as she zipped off to look at more gems.

I traveled over the scattered books left behind absently along the counters above the cupboards, the microscopes stored in a glass case, a dark haired guy through the window…

WHOA.

W

H

O

A.

My turn to gasp. Shock froze me on the spot.


	7. Love's Silent Return

He stood, pale and tall in the doorway to the courtyard, visible through the back window looking at the back of the science hall; just as I remembered him. Dark hair a bit longer and straightened so it swished around his intense, dark eyes when he moved, but the same handsome face, the same posture, the same deathly sexy figure.

The hands that had once held me tossed a plastic red pass between them as he walked, black watch dangling on one wrist, head swerving to see if there was anyone down either halls he strode passed. The sunlight from the opening door illuminated his figure, and my heart swelled.

Fang. My Fang!

My wingman, my right hand, my soul mate!

Seeing him there, walking away through that door, so dark and slender, so at home among the many expansive halls - it filled me from the bottom of my heart and warmed me all the way up.

As the door swung shut behind him, heavy and with a metal clang, Angel looked up in surprise.

I blanked my mind immediately. It was quickly becoming a skill of mine.

"What's the matter, Max?" She asked, obviously puzzled now that she had nothing to work with in my dead-heart-monitor mind.

"I thought I saw Dillan," I lied easily, covering for any stray hormonal thoughts I couldn't control. "but it was just some ugly jock."

We had left Dillan with Jeb at the house, along with Total and Akila. Because of their recent marriage they'd been wanting alone time.

Angel eyed me, but said nothing, wandering off again to examine more rocks. Almost pointedly keeping silent. That bothered me.

The halls emptied. The others got back from their flight unseen and tucked back into the cupboards as the bell rang for fifth period. I reined my mind in away from Fang as much and for as long as I could, but the thoughts exploded out of my control.

I dreamt about him through 5th and 6th period happily, endlessly, breathlessly.

When the others were all taking naps 7th period, I cracked the cupboard once more. I did this at some point each period to make sure no one was suspicious of our hiding places, or ever decided to open a cabinet without thinking… and there he was.

The teacher had lined up small, empty plastic bins about the size of a cottage cheese container along the counters over top the cupboards with different rocks her classes were studying thrown in. There were ten stations, spaced out, and they were supposed to wander the room studying the rocks for their test tomorrow.

Fang stood with his paper and a mechanical pencil beside a roundish girl with pinched eyes, black-rimmed glasses, and a pointed nose. She had short brown hair up in messy bun and was scowling. He was trying to look calm, though I could see his irritation at being placed with this girl.

It made my heart ache to see him there, and to know he wouldn't think to flash me one of his rare smiles to make my gut butterflies from going nuts. Like he used to. Before…

Was I sure this wasn't an amazing look-alike, or a carbon copy or a clone made by some evil scientist to get me pregnant then steal the baby and raise it with Erasers and Flyboys?

Not entirely.


	8. Fang's Lament

I wanted to drink in his presence, maybe tug on his pant leg to make him realize I'm here; that I miss him and love him and want him to come home with us. As a family again.

But I drew the door closed and curled up in mourning. The feet shuffled. Pencils scribbled. Hastily whispered answers flew, and I was almost in tears.

Fang was close enough to touch for the first time in a month, and I didn't have any idea, even after all this time, how I could tell him I needed him. That he couldn't just run away from me, from us, when times got complicated.

But I couldn't tell him how I could be his lover and still keep my family… because I didn't know myself.

Tears overflowed down my cheeks and I buried my face in drawn-up knees, hoping my sniffles were silent from Angel and the others.

The next day…

Still wandering around this big place exploring with eyes as big as dinner plates, we discovered an art and chorus room, plus a band room. Cool.

The others scattered, of course, and Iggy made his home in the ceiling of a math class that had killer jokesters. Though infested with roaches, it was a great place to test a few stink bomb recipes.

Me, I hid in the ceiling of every classroom until I got Fang's entire freshman schedule. We were only fourteen/fifteen, remember.

Algebra 1, World History, Art, English Honors(smartass), third lunch, Spanish, then Earth Science, of course.

I got dust in places I didn't even know I had, but now I could commence planning my Fang approach. My heart turned over just thinking about it.

Now all I need is a perfect plan. Hopefully, with a bit of luck, this might go smoothly…

Meanwhile. . .

Laugh.

Grin.

Arm swat; ear cuff. Duck and dodge and mess with the zippers on a girl's backpack with the others.

Push out of the group, spit out an excuse, and vanish into the freshman guys bathroom. The smiles and fooling attitude are shaken off. The dark eyes bright with fake laughter dim and dull.

Tap tap tap. Side-step into a stall. Swing the door shut, down clatters the toilet seat cover.

Fang slumps back against the faded maroon wall covered in permanent ink hearts. He takes out the same black sharpie as yesterday, and the day before, from his back pocket to add yet another 'M and F forever' to the other thirty or so.

_Will I ever be able to let her go?_ He sighs, and his fingers twitch over his pocket. Giving in, he takes out his wallet, pulling out her picture. From Total and Akila's wedding; he'd bought a disposable camera and snapped it without her knowing so he could remember her like she'd been that day. Beautiful, strong… so Max.

His mood has plummeted. Well, this happens every day he does this anyway. Remembering kissing her, holding her, fighting with her… it was too much to bear as just a memory. She was his soul mate, and he knew that. He needed her just like she needed him.

He ran his fingers through his hair, the picture balanced in the other hand.

In the short time since he'd left Fang had found a hundred reasons to go back home to the flock.

104, to be exact.

Most of them had Max incorporated, but hey, she was the one thing that pulled him down so far every day. Why shouldn't she be the constantly nagging thought over his decision to not go back and live the life they had before, instead of torturing himself through this new one?

God, when she wasn't on his mind, which was rare, then he was a happier new guy here at this high school. But he couldn't just drop her. It was impossible. His first and only love wouldn't let go that easily…

…especially not Max.

He was losing more and more heart by the day, but his new friends kept him sane. They liked the same things. Music, jokes, had the same maturity level(some did anyway).

The smiles and laughs weren't just for show. He had had some good times with these guys; as un-wise as they came across as, and that was probably because they'd never fought an army of Flyboys, or killed people before.

Innocence, right?

As it was, he was reassured of his masked identity - by the safe little world of lies he'd weaved. None of his friends knew anything about his wings, or his family, or his past.

Amazingly, they were as content as he was to leave the past in the past, and focus on wringing every bit of fun and craziness out of their high school years as they could.

Now if only he could get his mind set where there's were – not a day passed Friday night – and maybe, just maybe he could settle comfortably here.

_Good luck with that_, he thought bitterly to himself as he slipped back into the chaos of people in the hallway.


End file.
